American Avocets in Flight

Caught this pair at my local refuge in the first weeks of spring last year. One of my favorite shots of 2012. It has some meaning to me as it was a beautiful morning with lots of activity and I got some nice frames of pairs flying together.
The male is out front.
Those of you that shot BIF stuff know its hard enough to get one bird sharp in the frame but two in the same focal plane is a real rarity. I was tickled to get this shot. Hope you like it.

1DMKIV---700mm---f6.3---ss1/3200---IOS640---HH@7:30am---35% crop

Thanks as always for looking and for your input. Appreciated.

David

Excellent combo David. Both sharp & in focus. Love the harmony & composition of this shot. TFS

The early morning light is pretty special David, and as you say both in the same focal plane....top score. The light on the birds is very nice, just a slight halo showing on the top sides, backdrop with the cloud band is extra good, lovely soft feel to thjs one and all framed nicely

You're right David, 2 on the same focal plane is a rare accomplishment especially with such a nice BG and in such nice light. Only crit I suppose is the top bird could have a better wing position (but I couldn't care less really). This would absolutely be one of my favorite shots if it were in my portfolio.

Crisp, nice detail on whites, pleasing comp!:cheers:

I can certainly see why it's one of your favorites. Mine too. Early morning light is wonderful, as is the bg. And of course two sharp birds in flight. Excellent work.

This is master piece ,David. Great light and IQ.
Wonderful flight poses with downward wing position of lovely pair.Bird on left side looks like female.Never seen before,but learned on BPN.
Beautiful HA and catch lights.Bill of the upper bird need sharpening at the tip.
Love the way birds pops against beautiful and smooth two tone backdrop.
Love the excellent frame.Very well done David.

Regards,
Satish.

Over the top, David!
Besides the feat of getting both sharp, they both are in nice positions and the BG is superb.
Your best so far for me.

Pretty neat David. I too would have this as a personal favorite if it were mine. I like the dark sky BG. I only wish for a better wing position on the lead bird, but that is asking alot out of an already impressive image.

Wow, kudos, David. That is a rare thing to see, 2 avocets in flight, both sharp! Nice work. I love love those background colors. Great work.

Hi David, great capture of a pair, and both in good focus. Nicely separated from the BG, and as the colours look very similar, how do you tell the difference between the male and female.

Thanks very much everyone for the comments, appreciated as always.

Stuart, The female of this species has a bit more curved beak and can be seen here pretty well. Sometimes even more noticeable, especially in shots of them copulating. Look at some of the old posts and you will see it clearly. I think Mike Milicia posted a nice one recently.
Hope this helps & thanks again for your comment.

David

Very nice shot.
Great light, nice background, two great poses, and great comp.
Well done.

Thanks everyone for the comments, appreciated.